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[Joe; Triton: Atlantica: Throne Room]

The fighter tsked. Figures...but was there before now? Or did it come with them? Not that he had much time to think about that dead end, considering the sudden armament staring at him.

Triton let out a weary sigh. This was already pointing towards failure...but at least now it sounded like they had reinforcements. And the King, proud as he was, knew he needed to do whatever necessary to keep his kingdom alive and well. Even without the Trident.

"Sora, I humbly request you and your companion's aid for the fight to come? Can I expect it?" Truly, he was asking a lot, but...he said what was needed, even with all the information swelling on him like a current. He knew what Sora was capable of, and Sora did seem to trust them.

Joe held back. He was already under scrutiny from the guards. After all, he moved and made an explosion. He didn't need to draw anymore attention to himself.

[Nick :: Halloween Town :: Graveyard]

Nick seemed to pout at the 'don't kill Kyle' part of the plan, but he accepted it begrudgingly. He had learned early on in life to never disagree with the boss on complicated plans. Unless you planned on throwing them under the bus. "Alright, I won't kill him and I'll follow through with your plan. However..."

A devious grin formed, the Dark Knight cackling under his breath. "What about the others?"

[Nick :: Halloween Town :: Graveyard]

"Well, yes. But it isn't really urgent. As long as I have something to do, I'll be fine. Just curious to what the next step is in whatever you're doing." He smiled, adjusting his glasses with his left hand before waving his right hand with a casual flick. A dark corridor opened up, and Nick shifted his gaze towards the swirling purple and black doorway.

"Well, I'll be off to the castle. Perhaps have a bath before heading off to bed. Ta ta, Ajora. Teacher." He took a deep breath, then stepped into the portal and vanished from the Replica's view.

[ Chamber of Darkness ]

As he grew conscious, the sensation of bindings hit him first, followed by the intense aura of power surrounding him. Finally opening his eyes, the burnt-orange irises glazed over his current 'prison': he was being held up by chains, their metal clasps tightly trapping his wrists and pulling his arms out to his sides, where the chains were locked into a post hammered into the odd stone ground. They were completely taut-- he could not even lift himself off of his knees.

Underneath him, strange runes organized in a number of intersecting circles dimly glowed, though they were hard to see in the brighter light of what lay before him. In front of him, glowing in the coldest light he'd ever felt, was a massive stone-- the source of the overwhelming energy, he presumed. It was nothing like Kingdom Hearts, though... he'd tasted that power, and there was nothing that would satiate him ever again.

"Well, well. It finally wakes up," mused a voice off to his right. It was somewhat raspy, a sadistic tone coupled with what could only be described as barely-bridled irritation.

He turned to the side, glaring at the multi-colored clown. "What is the meaning of this?" Xemnas asked slowly, not bothering to struggle. He'd already attempted to charge energy into the chains, but he could not summon his magic; the runes beneath him were probably acting to negate his connection to the Nothingness.

"A righting of wrongs, as it were."

Xemnas' head immediately pivoted to stare at the crystal in front of him, eyes narrowed. The sound of boots clicking against stone echoed through the chamber as the tall, white-haired man strolled out from behind the stone, his own burnt-orange irises meeting the Nobody's.

"So, you've come for me after all," Xemnas muttered as the Xehanort's Heartless came closer, his tall form casting a shadow over the bound Superior. "We remembered nothing before; what good will come of this?"

"Do you know what this stone is?" the Heartless asked, side-stepping in order to glance at the stone and allow Xemnas to do the same.

"I can't say that I do, though it does seem... familiar," he responded, glancing back to his embodied Heart.

"This is the Cornerstone of Darkness," he explained, smiling. "You might even considered it the Heart of all Darkness."

"Right... and I... we..."

"Even now, you are beginning to remember," the Heartless mused, turning once more to face his Body; the shadow seemed to widen as the ever-familiar Guardian grew from his back. "Once we are one again, all shall be returned... all of our mind, and all of our power."

"The power... the power to..."

"Unlock our destiny."

As the Guardian phased through his master and lunged forward for Xemnas, Kefka could only chuckle maliciously from the shadows.

[ Chamber of Darkness ]

A Corridor of Darkness appeared in the center of the Cornerstone Chamber, from which strolled the intimidating form of Xaldin, the Whirlwind Lancer. His eyes were narrowed suspiciously as he looked around, Kefka nearby, and what he assumed was Xemnas' form, covered by an Organization Cloak, in front of the giant crystal. His lips had curled into an oddly curious smirk; there were empty chains on the floor, and he couldn't help but wonder what fun he'd missed out on.

"My, my, but this is interesting," the Nobody mused, gazing at the crystal. "I've never been here before. Has another of my brethren fallen?"

"In a manner of speaking, Dilan," the silver-haired man spoke, his hands gently running over the stone. His voice was... different. It wasn't quite Xemnas', but it wasn't quite the Heartless' voice, either. It was somewhat... younger.

Xaldin paused, one brow raising in curiosity. "My old name... So, is that what I missed?"

"Yes, the body and heart have become one again," he responded. "And now, I remember everything."

"Really, then?" he asked, stepping forward. "Do tell, Xehanort, who are you?"

"That will be Master Xehanort," he responded, turning to face Xaldin with a triumphant smile. Though he looked mostly the same, he did appear slightly younger, as if matching his voice-- he looked just as he had the day they found him on Radiant Garden. As Xaldin frowned in confusion, Xehanort held out one hand, and Darkness flowed wildly into it, forming... a Keyblade. "As in Keyblade Master."

Xaldin remained tense, narrowed eyes glancing from the blade to Xehanort's face. "What will you do now?"

"Do not be alarmed," Xehanort scoffed, dismissing the blade with a wave of his hand; Xaldin released his tension, crossing his arms. "I will not assault you again. That was in a moment of confusion after an experiment gone wrong. But now... now the true preparations shall begin."

"For what, Master Xehanort?"

The silver-haired young man turned once more to the Cornerstone of Darkness, placing one hand gently on its side. "Finishing what was started eons ago."

[Saint.:Flying Dutchman:.Sleeping Quarters]

"...more..." Saint stated. He walked toward Dusk confidently and swept her off her feet. Then, Saint proceeded to walk to a more secluded area of the quarters to go about with his business.

[Tiiiiiime skiiiiiiip until these two are needed. I talked to Dawn about it.]

[[ Captain's Message: HAPPY 4600 AND HAPPY NEW YEAR, SUCKERS ]]

[ Amy : Red Rose ]

Amy looked down at the water. Others had followed Kyle to wherever he was going, but she had no intention to. It was midnight, she had woken up for this landing, but swimming wasn't in the agenda. Midnight. Let's all go for a swim at midnight, following Mr. Don't-Come-With-Me.

"Well, balls. I'm going to bed."

Amy left the ramp and went back to her room. F this S.

[ Kyle ; Sora : Under the Sea : Palace Halls ]

When Triton gave the word that no, they had not in fact scouted out that far for the Trident, Kyle merely nodded and turned to face the exit of the castle and, beyond that, the city.

"I've never actually tried it, but," he mused, summoning two small Starlight spheres, one in each hand. "I've got a feeling it will work, if that last 'gift' from Ajora was what I think it was."

He stalled for a moment, lifting the orbs of magic up and peering into them. They hovered just above his hands, so he even ran his fingers gently through them, trying to get a feel for the energy. It was his mana made manifest. His energy, his essence in form. All he had to do was remember that, strengthen the connection...

His eyes suddenly lit up, glowing the same yellow-white of the Starlight spheres; simultaneously, a vertical, violet slit appeared in each orb, making them appear like floating eyes. They turned around, each viewing separate directions, and began floating around, like bubbles in the underwater currents that served as an odd metaphor for the wind.

"Well, this could take some getting used to," he muttered, remaining still as the Starlights both shrank into Neutrons before rocketing off like bullets through the water in the direction of the enigmatic darkness. "Just a few minutes."

"Did you make them your eyes?" Sora asked, floating around in front of Kyle and waving his head. A grin appeared on his face as he began to make faces-

"Yes, but I can still hear you fine and feel the movements of your hand in front of my face," Kyle replied bluntly, unamused; a small smirk did pop up, though, when he felt Sora freeze in front of him.

"Right, sorry," he said, turning back around and watching the entrance.

----

[[And, to move things along, forceful time skip...]]

"Alright, I think... yeah, I'm here," Kyle said, getting Sora's attention and probably anybody else who was waiting. He remained still, though at times he'd tilt his head, as if trying to avoid something; it was hard to separate yourself from your vision.

"Aaaand?" Sora asked, anxiety ringing clear in his voice. It didn't help that Kyle's jaw grew tense and his glowing eyes narrowed.

"It's... it's a mass summoning," Kyle said, his tone dead; there was no emotion as he relayed the news. There couldn't be, because otherwise, he'd likely lose concentration. "Heartless. Lots and lots of Heartless. They're all low level, easy enough to handle, but... I'll just show you. Joe, open up for a bit."

At that moment, Kyle projected what he saw to the other four members there (Sora, Dani, Kyla, and Joe, if he removed the block): and endless mat of Darkness covering the sea floor, with various Heartless slowly lifting from the Darkness, like undead rising from their graves. As far as Kyle's vision could see, there were Aquatanks, Sheltering Zones, and Screwdrivers. And yet...

Within the crowd, countless other creatures were also forming, their emblems unfamiliar to Kyle. They formed in swarms; they were small enough to be insignificant on their own, but wherever one was born from the abyss, half a dozen more followed. But for some, perhaps even that wasn't the most frightening part.

No, for some, it was perhaps the ghastly white figures, contrasting so thoroughly with the Darkness from which they rose; for Joe, it was almost certainly the pale, faceless mermen, their sterile white hair flowing with the currents.

Geists were being summoned, as well.

"It's been awhile since we've seen those guys," Sora muttered, trying not to sound completely flabbergasted by the images he was being shown.

After a moment of gazing at the amassing army (which, to their likely displeasure, was still growing), two strange beasts slowly descended in front of the vision. On the left, a winged, masculine form; on the right, a sleek, feminine form; both had seven eyes. In between them, an array of thin black tendrils slowly fell, revealing their connection to black fins, themselves connected to none-other than a Trident-wielding Ajora.

"Hello," he spoke, and they could all hear him as clearly as if he were in the room. He smiled; it was more of a smirk, really, confident in his position. With a wave of the Trident, he began to shoot a beam of magic from one side to the other. It wasn't offensive-- it was a message. The released energy streams began to form a single sentence:

We march when the heathen goes free.

The words remained for a second before fading away, leaving just Ajora smiling.

"Good luck," he mused with a polite wave before the feminine monstrosity to his left lifted her hand and blasted the sphere, destroying it.

However, instead of the vision immediately going black, it seemed to jump to a completely different perspective; the second eye had risen above the mass to get a bird's-eye view, looking down below. The sight managed to encompass the entire army, but... in order to do so, it was so far back that it couldn't see anything but tiny, insignificant dots of various colors. There was a small flash of light from the side, and then the vision finally went black.

Kyle's eyes had reverted to their normal appearance; his right eye when the first blast struck, and his left after the second. His shoulders weren't sagging, but they were tense. His eyes were locked off into some unknown distance, narrowed in thought, his mouth just slightly open because his focus was elsewhere.

"Well?" Triton asked, insistent and frustrated. "How bad is it? What should I do?"

"Gather all of your men immediately," Kyle said, not even giving the others a chance to respond to him. After a moment's pause, he tilted his head to the side, letting his right eye make contact with Triton over his shoulder. "And call for a total evacuation of the city. Now."