Radiant Garden [COMPLETED]

[BasslineRaver]

The less than gentle landing startled Xemnas like none other. He let out a startled squeak and then refused to move. Seriously. Xemnas made puddles.

Poor thing was so incredibly frightened by Sora's horrid piloting that he lost control of himself. He stared up sadly as the others left the ship and pulled his loose jacket around himself further. He refused to move.

It felt awkward and weird. He looked around and whimpered, not being able to walk without help, but wanting to move and get away from the feeling.



(( "Only this Moment" - Royksopp ))  

[queen_qing]

Sora stared at the newest arrival for a few moments, silently gauging the threat level. The Keyblade Master did not relax; not for a moment. He'd been tricked many times before by seemingly innocuous enemies, then almost had his a** handed to him.

Well, not this time.

His hand tightening around both his Keyblades, Sora stepped forward, brilliant blue eyes fixated on him. He was almost next to Axel now, and Sora gestured for the brown cloaked individual to step back, before he started whooping a**. The questions he could do without for the time being; his friend was badly hurt, and Axel's general well-being was all that Sora could think of at the moment.

That, and if this guy didn't do a good number on the redhead, who could've?

"I don't believe you," Sora snapped. From what he had seen online, the brown cloaked people were all evil and out for blood. Why should this particular one be any different? "Who are you, and what the hell do you want here?"  

[Skwinky]

Shock was the first thing that took over in Roxas’ mind when the cloaked man, Greed, revealed himself. Marluxia? That was almost unexpected. Though, of course, it made sense. Marluxia was the one who tried to take over the Organization XIII, hence the name ‘Greed’. The boy thought Saix was spot on when he mentioned the Seven Deadly Sins but found it odd that Greed had no clue what they even were. If there were seven of them and there were seven sins, it would only make sense if the rest of their names were Wrath, Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, and Envy.

And now it was definite that these men were Heartless. What would Roxas’ Heartless have been like? It was impossible that it would exist because that was eliminated long ago… but still. He had to wonder. And these Heartless… they were not like the rest. In fact, they were a lot like Xehanort’s Heartless. He could only hope that they weren’t that powerful as well.

Now they knew yet another fact, these men wanted to eliminate the Organization XIII that have come back not because they were Nobodies (or once Nobodies) but because they weren’t supposed to come back. That confirms that it was not them that gave them their hearts. Riku was right on that one.

“Caesar?” Roxas whispered to himself. Their leader… Caesar. The blonde was sure to commit the name to memory. And Greed would disobey orders he was given by this Caesar… to talk?

“That’s right,” the boy nodded in response to Saix’s question. “How did Caesar know about us coming back?”  

[Trae prodigy]

Were all gummi ship landings that shakey? Kairi had never been in a gummi ship, if she had....that must have been when her heart was gone, because she didn't remember.

The landing had shook her up a bit and she had to sit down for a moment to regain control of her now summer-saulting stomach. When she got up she heard someone yell:

"STAY AWAY FROM AXEL!!" it was Sora.

Kairi jerked her head in direction of Sora's voice and ran over, "Sora! What's wron---Axel!?" She bent down and looked at the injured man, "Sora? What happened?" she saw Sora in battle stance, Kairi turned her head to find another brown cloak.

Already? We just got here and they followed us!?

She got up and pulled out her keyblade, "You're not going to do this alone, Sora!"


Aerith waited a while for Cloud's response, but it seemed like he was off in another world. Typical. With a sigh she walked away.

She heard some noise outside and poked her head out the door. Tifa, Saix, Roxas, and the pink haired man from before, were there...and another brown cloak. Aerith grabbed her staff and ran out the door.

"Leon! Cloud! They're back!"  

[Skwinky]

The room was getting excessively quiet. Marluxia was smart in thinking that it was best to get out of here. Leon considered doing the same… but where would he go? The castle was not the most welcoming place to stay and it was getting colder and colder outside. Why even bother?

There were voices now filtering in from behind Merlin’s door. It was probably Marluxia speaking with some of the others who have left like Roxas and Tifa. Leon certainly heard Saix’s voice as well. Guess his little clash with Axel was over…

Saix’s voice began to rise and steadily get angrier and angrier. What was going on?

Aerith soon answered his question. ”Leon! Cloud! They’re back!”

“The cloaked men?!” Leon yelled, grabbing his gunblade and dashing out of the door. And there one stood, hood down and all. He looked remarkably like Marluxia, except his hair was shorter and had braid running down the side of his face along with a crimson tattoo.

Leon gripped his Revolver tighter as he pointed it at the man. “What you want? Why are you here?” he demanded.  

[queen_qing]

Kairi's voice! Sora jumped, startled, when she emerged with a flowery Keyblade in hand; however, his surprise turned to alarm when he realied just who was standing with him.

"Kairi!" He said urgently, caught off guard as he turned to her. "What are you doing here?" There was no way he was going to let her get hurt. She wasn't used to battles, as far as he knew, and Sora intended to keep it that way.

What was he for, if he couldn't even protect her? "Go back, Kairi, the others need you." Sora responded, almost pleading. He knew how stubborn the girl could get, but he had to get through to her somehow. Her safety was important to him, and he could not fight well when he knew that she stood the chance of being injured any second.  

[SCDream]

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Number Four stepped backwards carefully as Sora summoned the Keyblade. He didn’t want a fight! Why did everyone assume that? … Probably because Number Five started everything… the jerk. He made them think that everyone was going to attack them.

“I’m Four… Number Four… okay?” The cloaked man stopped backing away when he felt he was at a safe distance. “What the problem with you?” Man… this really was a bad time. Why him? Why him?

Then another one ran out of the ship. A girl this time. At least she wouldn’t be bad. Guess again. The girl stood by Sora and pulled out her own keyblade. Another one?! Number Four had really landed himself in a pickle this time…

But this girl, Sora seemed to really care for her. Why couldn’t he remember her name? He was so bad with names too…  

[SCDream]

Just as he thought. Saix backed down, though it wasn’t enough to say for the rest of the people inside the house that were now all spilling out. None of them were particularly familiar, so Greed simply chose to ignore them. They could pick up the hint that he was not in the mood to fight. If not, he’d have to give them a fair warning.

“Stalling?” The man smirked. “No, I wouldn’t say that at all. But Caesar… Caesar is an extremely powerful man, one that I would not reckon with. He is by far the most powerful one I know.”

Then Saix paused. Greed continued to grin as he watched the man contemplate. He knew he had to be careful on the subject of Caesar unless he wanted to land in real trouble. He could handle Numbers One and Two… but not Caesar.

But there were still a few things he could say.

“Ha!” Greed laughed. “Kingdom Hearts? It has been destroyed. The Organization XIII should know better than that, or has Xemnas or Sora not bothered to tell you that little tidbit of information? Looks like they may be holding out on you. Maybe you should talk to them some more. I’m sure they have a lot to tell you… especially Xemnas.”

“And as for how he knew of your return… Caesar simply knows everything.”  

[Diazu]

What? Kingdom Hearts was destroyed? Why?

Saix's eyes were wide at hearing the information. Sora and Xemnas said nothing of it...So why...

"You have to be lying...! Kingdom Hearts is the heart of all worlds! Destroying it would throw the worlds into darkness!" Saix yelled, panic laced with his voice. Why was he afraid? Was it instinct...?

Why did Sora hide the information? Was he afraid of their reaction? "Why?" He asked simply. After a moment he continued to ask. "Why, Greed? Why didn't Sora tell us? Xemnas couldn't...because he has no memory." He explained, but he could not stop the fear from his voice.

It took a few minutes but he could suddenly feel his hands shaking at the information alone. Sora lied to them...and his instict wouldn't leave him alone into thinking that the worlds were doomed with Kingdom Hearts.

"How...did Kingdom Hearts get destroyed? Was it because of Xemnas? Or because we came back?"  

[SCDream]

“You seem a little… nervous, Saix.” Greed gloated. “Kingdom Hearts was precious too you. But here’s the thing, Nobodies aren’t connected to Kingdom Hearts like the Heartless are. We Heartless know how it lives, breathes, what it’s like… and what it’s for. No one knows the true properties or purpose of the Heart or Kingdom Hearts. Not like we do.”

“And why would I lie about something like Kingdom Hearts? Here’s a hint to prove I’m not… Haven’t you noticed that some of the worlds you once were at you cannot get to? Like Twilight Town perhaps? Since Kingdom Hearts has been destroyed, the connections to each world have been completely severed. That is why you cannot return. It is not that Order has been restored like years ago. This time it’s different.

Another sneer. “I’m not quite sure why the Keyblade Bearer would hide such information. I’m sure he had a good reason. And are you positive that Xemnas has not forgotten everything? He was the Superior after all...” Number Three laughed again. “Sora and Riku were the last two present in Kingdom Hearts before it was destroyed with Xemnas at its core.”

”It was destroyed due to stress to its own Heart. When Ansem the Wise attempted to encode it, Kingdom Hearts burst. Then Xemnas forced his way into it and merged with it. When Xemnas was defeated by the two boys… let’s say that it put a heavy blow on Kingdom Hearts’ own Heart. And when you and your friends returned… that could be considered the last straw. You see, Kingdom Hearts is very fragile and it pains me to see that it is gone forever.”

”And Saix… you don’t look so good. Maybe you would like to lay down!” Greed laughed again. Speaking with these people certainly was better than fighting them! Perhaps Caesar would award him later!  

[Diazu]

Saix took in the information, amazed that it happened. He was only interested in Kingdom Hearts because of his animalistic instinct. But hearing everyone he told him did prove that it could have been gone forever.

"I do not need to lay down!" He snapped, growling at the man. If it was destroyed, then that means that the last few of Nobodies within the Organization is probably never able to return like they did...It almost hurt to think that.

"You Heartless...Your kind shouldn't even be this advanced. You're better off mindless like the Shadows!" He growled, his anger rushing back once again.

Before he could stop himself he ran forward to attempt another attack, feral amber eyes locked on Greed's.

Saix swung, and just like before, Greed was out of sight by the time the attack was to hit. Damnit! He screamed in his mind. He had just realized a fatal mistake he just did...why the hell did he let his rage get to him that moment? Now Greed would retaliate and attack him back. Saix looked around, trying to find out where he was, but he was nowhere in sight. s**t...not good. It might be an ambush on him now...  

[Xandrei]

Man, that landing had been less than perfect, but that ride had been great fun! Demyx had never really been in a Gummi Ship before. Although he had gotten slightly queasy at first, the musician decided he'd definitely try that again. He was just about to check to see if Namine had liked the ride as well when he heard Sora shout angrily.

What!? Cloaked people already? Dude.....that was so uncool. Demyx pouted before drawing his lips into a thin line. He'd protect Namine, he had to, for Roxas. In the blink of an eye, his light blue Sitar was in his hands, ready to go. The ex-Org member stepped off the Gummi Ship, coming up next to Sora, giving his best glare to the cloaked figure.

"Hey man! Get away from Axel, just like Sora says!"

Ienzo had frozen in his tracks when he heard that another cloaked figure had shown up. He watched helplessly as Leon rushed outside, running to aid Roxas. The small man wondered how the heck he had made it into the Organization XIII before. If he had been this absolutely helpless, why did they even bother?

So he crept up to the door of Merlin's house, opening it a crack so he could hear what was going on outside. The man was talking, and from what he could see... this one resembled Marluxia. Ienzo winced as he remembered a bit of what Marluxia had done to the Organization. If the heartless form of him was anything like the Nobody form.... they'd have to watch out. This one was very dangerous.

Alright, time to focus. He had to remember the details of this conversation, at the very least. Ienzo hadn't been much of a help and besides, information was his forte.

Maybe he'd be able to throw back in their faces.  

[ll EmoShane ll]

Marluxia felt...disgusted. This was his Heartless? How repulsive, even the way he acted made him cringe. So it was obvious that they didn't act completely like the formal Orgianization members, and he was relieved too. But still, this Greed was irritating. His name...reflected how they were before. He had told Saix before that he had wanted to take over the Organization XIII because he wanted to make it better. What a lie. The pink-haired man felt slightly guilty about it too. So he was greedy, and so he really did think he was better. But maybe he would've made it better for the rest of the Nobodies. Or that was just an excuse to make himself feel better.

But still, he listened silently, his questions being answered one by one. Then one answer stuck a chord of fear in his heart. What? Kingdom Hearts was...gone? Completely destroyed? What about the rest of the Organization? Wait...why did he care? Marluxia felt a sudden surge of empathy and sympathy mixed into one little puddle inside of his own heart. He cringed. Saix had lost his temper, though the last statement the blue-haired man said had his agreement. Their heartless were definitely better off mindless. And...there was no use trying to stop the berserker now, unless, of course, he wanted to stop himself. Though, Saix really needed to work on becoming more patient. It was no use fighting somebody who was obviously a lot quicker and could simply evade his attacks without a plan. It seemed more and more people from inside Merlin's house became aware of his Heartless' appearance.

Now if they worked together, perhaps they could devise a plan to kill his repulsive Heartless, Greed.  

[SCDream]

“If I were mindless,” the cloaked man began, “Then you would have not had this opportunity to speak with me, would you?”

Greed could honestly say that he was a little surprised when Saix instantly lunged in for the attack. He could be very thankful that he was fast, though he would still have to be faster if he were to be the best. He jumped backwards and put a great distance between himself and the others. The Heartless, however, continued to grin.

“Remember that I told you that if you attacked I would have to follow my orders?” Greed reached within the folds of his robe and felt very thin scabbard. With his other hand he clutched the hilt the rested within the scabbard and slowly slid it out. The sword was thin and had only one but extremely sharp edge. The blade was also unnaturally short.

“This… is Deception.” Greed announced simply as he held out the wakazashi horizontally. The Heartless laughed for quiet some time before continuing. “I think it is time that I begin to create some mayhem.”

The blade of the sword suddenly began to glow a very soft pink light. The light soon became stronger and stronger until it was blinding to look at. Then instantly… it burst. Thousands of small fragments of the blade scattered into the air with their unnatural glow. One would think that they looked like flower petals at the right glance.

Now Greed held has hand beneath the swirling petals before thrusting it out, directing the shards. The came in a stream and aimed directly for Saix’s left shoulder.

“I warned you…” The Heartless grinned.  

[Diazu]

Saix stared at Greed before the tiny blades were heading straight for him. Not good...

He watched as the man spoke, having given a name to his weapon before it begun to glow, soon being too blinding to see that he had to revert his eyes back to Greed.

Tiny petals...but they looked razor sharp if they were to come into contact with them. And before he could think, they were now going straight for him! Thinking quickly, Saix jumped from the path of the attack, then looked over at Greed. "Is that the best you've got? You missed." He mocked, knowing that stopping this fight now was pointless.

Still, that attack was also too easy to dodge...Was there a catch?

Shaking the thought from his mind, he attempted another attack on the Heartless, hoping to strike another blow to the man.