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{Captain Barbossa : Black Pearl : Deck}

Barbossa walked back aboard the deck of the Black Pearl, his emotion too hard to read as he listened to Elizabeth's and Will's protests. The parley had gone more than less as he had expected, now it was his chance to do things as he had planned since Jack was out of the picture. As Elizabeth, the "King of Pirates" said that they needed to give Jack a chance he rounded on her.

"Apologies your majesty, too long my own fate has not been in me own hands, no longer," he bellowed.

Before she could do anything to prevent it he grabbed the medallion that was around her neck and snapped the string that was holding it. At that moment the crew converged on the deck, dragging anyone who was below the decks up with them at gunpoint. Will, Elizabeth, the earthlings, and other fighters on board the deck would soon find themselves at gunpoint as well as Barbossa and his men mutinied together to sieze control of the situation. Their intent all too clear, to release Calypso.

As if on cue, they brought Tia Dalma out onto the deck, bound from the neck down in many, many ropes bringing her to stand near Barbossa.

{Auron : Black Pearl : Below Deck -> Deck}

Auron had been below the deck, preparing for the battle through focus and meditation when the crew members surrounded him on their way up, forcing him up to the deck at gunpoint. Auron brought his katana up to his shoulders ready to strike. A look in the pirate's eyes revealed to him that they didn't really want anyone dead.

"Now don't move, we don't want anyone to get hurt? Do we?"

The unsent samurai knew better than to put up a fight in this situation. Reluctantly he made his way up to the deck with them still holding him at gunpoint. He remained silent, his one eye scanning over the scene with a discerning gaze.

{Leon : Black Pearl : Deck}

Leon had remained silent, now simply standing upon the deck and trying to focus for the battle that was soon to commence. He listened curiously to the conversations on deck, a few of the boys talking about girls. Some calling for strategizing. However, as soon as the three that had left the ship to meet with the enemy had returned, the ship had a very different air about it.

That was when all of the crew came aboard the deck, their guns drawn and began to hold everyone else at gunpoint. Leon stared at the pirate that aimed his gun at the gunblader intently.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his focus remained on the gun pointed at his face. His muscles tensed. However, he wouldn't make a move.

"Be quiet and don't move! We don't want anyone to get hurt," one of the crew members bellowed.

[ Riku ; Kuja ; Will : Caribbean : Pearl's Deck ]

Riku hadn't even tensed as he was suddenly held at gunpoint, instead calmly turning to watch the scene unfold as he'd been warned it would. He sent a brief message to the rest of those with Charms on the deck:

"Let the story unfold as it should--"

However, he tensed as a familiar sensation struck him. He glared skyward just in time to see soldiers fall from the sky, landing on some of the men--

"No, don't interrupt--!"

Before Atir could finish his strike, and before the rest of the interlopers could strike out at more victims, there was a blinding flash of golden light--

Without warning, Atir and every other cloaked soldier had all Stopped, as well as struck with a destructive Light-elemental blast from underneath them. They could not move and even if they managed to survive the initial blast, they would likely disintegrate as the Light never vanished.

The deck was glowing with a brilliant golden glyph, and in the center was the familiar (to some) Seraphic Heart.

The men that had been slain were all healed of their wounds, brought back from near-death as they looked on at the scene.

Riku barely hesitated for a second. "Hurry, Barbossa, finish the ritual!" he shouted, looking to Elizabeth and Will. If the rest of the crew couldn't recuperate in time, he would hold Will back if necessary.

[[ Magic Glyph -- 20 Light-Elemental MS per turn; Guaranteed Stop. ]]

[Dani :: Atlantica ::Front lines]

Dani kept still as she stood in front of the darkness. She had never in her life had to experience being the first at anything and usually watched as others went before her. Any confidence Dani had in the throne room had ebbed away at this point as fear set in its place.

Dani quickly took a look back at the earthlings behind her, trying to keep a calm look on her face. Some of the fear was still evident to anyone that could see her. “I need to do this for them.” Dani thought to herself turning forward to the darkness. “I do not have my close friends this time within reach to help me. I have to just stay focused.”

[ Ashley :: Atlantica:: Battleground ]

Ashley floated behind the darkness trying to keep patient for the battle. Ashley was far enough away from the darkness that no one on the opposite could see the replica. She only had one goal, one target to mess with.

Ashley looked at the army in front of her and spun her chakrams in anticipation. “Don’t worry dear one,” Ashley whispered in her head as if someone could hear her “This will break you a lot more then it shall break me.”

[Jenny :: Atlantica :: Throne Room]

Jenny sighed as she flicked her tail to and fro in place. Her nerves hadn't settled since she left after the debriefing, and knowing that her friends were out on the battlefield made it harder to calm down. Had she always felt so jittery before a battle? She moved her hand, as if to grasp for the familiar fabric of her outfit; wanting to twist it about but her fingers only glided over the smooth surface of scales.

.:That's a bad habit anyways.:. Siren interjected, her voice carrying like a calm breeze. .:Relax, close your eyes; listen for the others and prep your spells. You'll be of no use if you fumble over all the notes.:.

She had a point. As always, but thankfully there wasn't a jab in her words. Her summon's tone was soft and melodic and the mage sighed again; but this time, releasing the tension in her shoulders. She closed her eyes and tuned into the melodies of others. She heard them, speckled over the battlefield and the mage made a mental note of each position.

Taking deep breaths, Jenny rehearsed the tunes in her head while prepping her spells. Haste... Stop... Meteor... Reflect...

[[Louis : Caverns]]

The arcanist stepped out of his portal and took a breath of the frigged subterranean air. He waved a hand through the mist that stained itself in strange multicolored hues, Strange... her presence is gone... luckily the residual magic from her times remains even after all these years. It'll do for now.

[[Cue: Exorcist]]

Louis held out his hands to each side and brought them in, in a spiraling motion, drawing across the surface of the mist in blues and purples. When he reached the center his hands hovered over his chest. The glyph on his stomach glowed and the earth began to shake around him as darkness and mists swirled together as one into a central point over his chest.



[[Mateus : Flying Dutchman]]

The armored figure stood stoically on the deck of the Flying Dutchman, standing in such a way that even should he be in a crewman's way, they would not dare object and would simply move around.

Suddenly the figure's stomach lit up as the glyph burned like fire, "W-what's going on?!"

"Change of plans..."

Not a second later he was engulfed in darkness and vanished from the deck before anyone could even take notice. Severe feedback would surge into Ajora's mind at the same time before going silent as though the connection were completely severed.



[[Louis, Mateus : Caverns]]

The caverns were alive now, black contrast with streams of pale coloration ripping through the air like hurricane force winds. At the center of it all was Louis, holding between his palms a shining sphere.

"This is your choice?" Mateus asked, his voice carrying over the howling of clashing forces.

"You make it sound as if there ever was an alternative," Louis replied, never breaking concentration.

"Not to an end, but a means. Rethink this!"

"What other means is there?!" Louis shouted over the noise, "If everything does not fall into place as it should, this is the ONLY remaining choice for me."

"Not the only one..." Mateus stated under his breath before shouting again, "If this is your choice, so be it! But you're only throwing your life away!"

"That was the plan from the beginning!" Louis snapped, his breath seething afterwards, "I should never have existed to begin with! No one should have! This life is a sick joke... and I'm only here to end it!"

Both were silent for a second, before Louis completed his statement, "...by any means necessary."

"And what of the others? Your allies? Your friends?"

Louis burst into laughter then once he calmed down he smiled warmly, "Mateus, you know the answer to that already as well."

"Then nothing will sway you from this path..." Mateus sighed, his voice tinged with a hint of remorse.

"Kill them all."

At last Louis hoisted the sphere up over his head and slammed it to the ground, drawing his rapier by summoning it to his hand in a flash. He lifted it up and pointed the blade down. With a deep breath he drove the blade down with all his might, piercing the sphere and pinning it down, shoving the rapier through till the hilt locked it in place.

There was a moment of silence before Louis reeled back and screamed. It was not a normal scream... no... it was far worse. Screams like these caused one's blood to stop in their veins or hair to stand up on end. It carried through the caverns, the catacombs above, all the way to the hallways of Jadis's castle.

Louis clawed at his shirt, driving his fingers deep trying to grip at things beneath his breast. His eyes were wide open but pitch black. His mouth, while screaming held a row fangs instead of teeth.

The sphere which had grown still spread ice out from the edges. Mateus was nowhere to be found. The air was growing colder than before, far colder than any mere cavern and it was spreading. Frost climbed the walls and down the caves. It moved through the surrounding area swiftly as a rushing river.

Above, the only other being would get only a short warning... the sight of his breath, the chill in the air, and frost on the walls before the true calamity began.

Louis' screaming finally stopped, his his eyes, black from one edge to the other softened along with his expression. But, rather than returning to normal, the darkness faded and his pupils vanished entirely, leaving his eyes pure white, glazed over entirely.

The dark sphere stirred, tendrils stretching out from the center point, drawing a distinct shape on the floor.

Once finished the darkness sprang up to the roof of the cavern, engulfing Louis in the torrent as his body fell to the floor. The darkness surged through every nook, cranny, and passage. It climbed all the way through the caverns and the castle above till it reached the peak of the highest central tower. At last it seemed to stop, then, bass like thunder shook the surrounding landscape, and with the sound of a gigantic heartbeat, ice burst forth, freezing everything in all directions. The castle, the giant lake, the surrounding forests, everything in sight.

When all was said and done, the castle of stone stood taller than before, shimmering in crystalline glass as snow fell across the countryside. In the center of the castle a constant beam of light shot up to the heavens gathering around it storm clouds, swirling with lightning and ice.



[[Cue: Sekibetsu "Farewell"]]

Shadows danced over the walls of the castle's main hall. The clash of steel echoed. Blood flowed through icy crevices. Battle cries marked the climax of some encounters, screams of agony signaled the end of others. Louis sat at the head of the hall, gaze empty, hollow. His armored grip clenched the arm of the throne splintering layers of ice under his clawed fingers.

One by one the battle sounds dropped off till no sound remained but the soft, steps of a lone figure approaching. Each foot fell accompanied by a series of drips, feeding the clear glass, red dye.

"So... you've finally made it this far," Louis asked, raising his face to smile at another Louis who stood over him with a scowl, "Was it worth it? You made it all the way here... at the cost of everything you held dear. First, your love. Then, your compassion. Your Conscience. And your hope. You gave it all up... now here you are. Was it REALLY worth it?"

"No... it wasn't," the other Louis raised his blade and plunged it into the one sitting proudly on his throne.

"If you'd simply given in at the beginning. None of this would have been necessary. Everything you had would have stayed intact," with his dying breath he laughed, "What a shame."



[[Cue: Shiki "Corpse Demon"]]

A ghostly skinned boy lay on a large bed covered in majestic, royal sheest frayed along the edges and burned black. A clouded over, frozen window of the castle tower overlooking the whitened, dead landscape gave light to the dim room. Beside him a red crystal stood empty as it crumbled to the floor.

"There's no turning back now," Mateus' voice came from nowhere in particular.

"Turning back was never an option," Louis replied monotone and mater-of-fact.

"Will it work?"

"It will. As long as I am still breathing, this spell will continue to spread... eventually engulfing far more than just the confines of the horizons. Even now I can feel it... reaching out and choking the life from new creatures, plants, and people."

"They will come for you," a female voice stated.

"Let them. I'm counting on it."

"Do you feel nothing for them? Does this not pain you? Were they not your friends? Your comrades?"

"It was all a lie. It meant nothing. I knew that from the start, but I attempted to fool myself into thinking otherwise... for the sake of my mission."

"And what of your mission now?"

"My mission has been and always will be the same. Wasting one moment more shackled to that pathetic facade would have only hindered my goal."

There was no reply. Louis took the silence as a chance to sit up and walk over to the window.

"They'd have turned on me the moment they discovered my identity anyway... which was inevitable at the rate things were going," Louis ran his hand over the glass that should have fogged beneath his fingers but remained the same, "Besides... this ice suits me. The cold is numbing."

"Why do you lie to yourself? Why go to all these lengths if you feel nothing?"

"Perhaps..." Louis hesitated and drew his hand away from the glass, "Perhaps I do feel something... perhaps I did... but... all the more reason I must succeed. They must die by my hand. I will end it right here in this castle... the place where it all began."

((Starting today I'm going on hiatus. I imagine I won't return to this RP for awhile. I simply ask nothing be done with or to Louis until my return.))

[ Ajora : Caribbean : Dutchman Helm ]

Ajora smiled as he looked across the sea toward the Black Pearl. It was all running smoothly.

"There, see?" Ajora said to Davy Jones, who was at the wheel. He pointed toward the large explosion in the midst of the main lines. "No need to fret, you can continue with assaulting the Pearl as planned."

After a moment, there was a sharp pain in the back of his head. His right eye twitched shut as his head tilted for the moment, but it was gone in a flash. He chuckled.

"Raise the sails. We start now."

---

[ Ajora : Under the Sea : Just Outside Battlefield ]

"Alrighty, then!" he shouted, gathering the attention of what Replicas had joined him down with the army. He couldn't help but grin as he looked toward the brilliant city. "The Heathen's been freed, it's time to march! Onward!"

[ Sora ; Kyle : Atlantica : Battlefield ]

"They've started coming this way, everyone, careful," Kyle spread through the charms to those underwater. His and Kyla's high vantage point gave them a bit of foresight, but he still couldn't see who they were actually up against.

At least, not without some help from his magic.

"Alright, everyone, here they come!" shouted Sora to the rest of the army, his Keyblade still tight within his grasp. He turned to face the army. "Are you ready to fight? Are you ready to defend your home, your friends, your families?!"

Charged support spread rapidly through the ranks as they enthusiastically raised their weapons high (which was admittedly humorous in the case of the octopuses). Sora joined them, raising his Keyblade and showing it to the army, which only seemed to give them more courage. "Then we will hold the line!"

Cheers erupted, and Sora turned, confidently awaiting the approaching mass.