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[ Xehanort : Pharos Lighthouse : Chamber of the Sun-Cryst ]

The man chuckled to himself, crossing his arms as both men spoke. "You could say that."

He watched as Genesis cautiously approached the stone, giving a sideways glance toward Sephiroth with an amused smirk while the deteriorating warrior made contact.


The moment Genesis touched the stone, all of his senses shut down. He could not see, could not feel nor move--the only evidence of his consciousness was his consciousness, his thoughts, his mind. In fact, he might have felt lost, out of place, as if he'd been swept away into oblivion.

A couple seconds passed when finally, there was a light in the darkness--an ethereal, fluid-like teal-green energy appeared from his side, swirling around his formless consciousness like a stream. It twisted and flowed, making patterns in the darkness, before coming together before him, coalescing into something more. There was a flash, blinding his sight.

When he could see again, the only thing visible in the endless black expanse was a single, metallic form of a woman, visible from the torso up as if most of her was hidden in shadow. Where her arms should have been, white metallic wing-like appendages spread out, also slipping back into the Darkness. Where her eyes should have been, only black holes, endless depths, could be seen. Then, without movement, "she" spoke, a chorus of hundreds, thousands of voices:


Upon finishing, the metallic woman erupted, blinding and enveloping Genesis in brilliant teal energy--


In reality, nothing had changed. Genesis would snap back to consciousness, still touching the Sun-Cryst, and in truth, only a few seconds had passed. But in Genesis, something stirred--an unwavering loyalty to Sephiroth, unquestioning allegiance to his commands. Genesis was his own individual, but it was as if he'd sworn total fealty to the One-Winged Angel, and he had no regrets or doubts. As well, his body was fully restored by the Darkness, the degradation reverting entirely as the connection between he and Sephiroth was strengthened.

Xehanort smirk remained. "Congratulations are in order, I suppose." Though neither he nor Sephiroth knew precisely what happened, they felt the Darkness had stirred, and Sephiroth would himself have felt the strengthened connection, knowing Genesis' full loyalty was his.

[[ She appears like this, without all the metal structure and the red tube. ]]

{{Sephiroth ; Genesis : Pharos Lighthouse : Chamber of the Sun-Cryst}

As soon as Genesis touched the stone he was lost the world, oblivious to anyone and anything around him as his consciousness fell into a deep and unending darkness. A few seconds passed until he saw anything, then a teal-green energy appeared around him, streams of light that flowed like water and then merged together, taking on form. Then a blinding flash of light, which would have made him raise his hands to cover his eyes.

When his blindness passed a metallic form stood before him, feminine in appearance, it floated, most of it's body hidden in the darkness that surrounded them. White metallic wings spread from where her arms should have been and she had no eyes. When she spoke, it was not one voice but hundreds if not thousands of voices all at once. She spoke poetically, referencing Loveless, the poetry that the dark night cherished. He had read the words so many times from memory that they stuck out plain as day to him.

At the end of her poetry the woman vanished, becoming the same teal energy that had created her form initially. Then his eyes opened, his gloved hands still laid upon the sides of the Sun-cryst. As he lowered his hands, he immediately felt the difference, there was no ache or pulling of his muscle in his left shoulder. His degradation had been cured by the darkness He hid his awe and wonder well as he turned his attention back towards the two men that were with him. His eyes fell upon Sephiroth and he could feel it inside of him. A desire and an irrevocable loyalty towards the silver-haired man. His attention then turned to Xehanort as he spoke.

"I would say so, for the Goddess has healed me of my degradation," He replied with a pleased smirk, matching the Seeker's. "She has also declared that I am to be your first general," He stated, his attention turning to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth's eyes had closed briefly as he felt the darkness stir, reveling in the power that coursed throughout the room and resonated with his own darkness. His eyes opened again as he heard Genesis stir barely seconds later. He could feel it, a stronger connection to the soldier, the red-cloaked man's loyalty belonged to him now. He smirked lightly, either out of surprise or amusement as the man declared himself to be the Legion's general.

"Very well," he replied simply, seemingly pleased with what had transpired. The One-winged Angel knew that now that Genesis was at full strength, his degradation cured, he would be of much more use to the Legion.

[ ¿ Ajora ? : Atlantis : Throne Room ]

The final star was significantly larger than those that came before--and with its increased size came an increased explosion, sending a rippling wave of searing Light out from the center. The eruption not only completely shattered the seal of Darkness, causing its fragments to disintegrate into black dust and then nothing, but it also blew open the doors to the throne room with a thunderous boom, revealing the struggle within.

The moment the door flew open, Ajora took one hand off the Trident and flung it out toward the entrance and those looking his way, turning to face them with unbridled fury. In that brief pause period, under the light of the entrance and the battle of energy in front of him, they would get a true glimpse of what had become of him since Kyla's departure.

From head to toe, the replica was consumed by the sickly black veins, thick and pulsing with malevolence. He was wearing nothing but the Atlantean robe tied around his waist, draping down to his legs, revealing the full extent of his corruption, with a particularly gruesome convergence on the center of his chest where his heart would be. There was barely half an inch that wasn't completely taken over. Even his wings, once feathered, were now nothing more than decayed, pitch-black bone structures, serving more toward a ghastly aesthetic than any sort of function, the spaces between the bones completely vacant.

Even his left eye was consumed, pitch black, no iris, no white, just Darkness. His right eye, however, had just barely managed to remain "normal", with vibrant gold irises, surging with hatred and rage.

With Ajora only having one hand charging the Trident, Kida (still possessed by the Heart of Atlantis) was slowly pushing her beam of bright blue energy back against his black beam; the heroes had arrived just in time, it seemed, as he had been mere feet away from victory, from claiming her or destroying her. And still, the Bloody Executioner only uttered a single word. A guttural, seething word, his voice sounding painfully strained, as he held his hand out toward them, threatening, hostile--

"... Kill..."

{Bobbi .:. Atlantis .:. Throne Room}

Bobbi waited patiently, focusing to boost her accuracy, reading the wind to increase her arrows' speed, and arming the arrow currently set to her bowstring with a Maelstrom Bolt. She was aiming to Silence Ajora; if she could stop him from using magic, that would be a huge benefit. The Archer grinned at Joe's speech, and fought the urge to scream, "Autobots, roll out!"

:And while Matt's doing that,: Bobbi added on the tail end of Kyla's request, also broadcasting to everyone with a Charm, :I'm going to try and Silence Ajora. Give me a clear shot, people!:

Thank goodness thought was faster than speech; there was almost no one in her way, and once the few who were cleared out, she took aim at the knot of black where Ajora's heart should be, and fired. Her arrow streaked across the battlefield, sped by her Read the Wind ability, strengthened by her Expert Focus. If her aim was true, the arrow would pierce Ajora's heart; if not, it hardly mattered, because the immediate area would be covered in a Blizzard spell, and with luck, Ajora's magic would be negated. The spell-laden missile would strike almost simultaneously with Kyla's Birn Strike.

[ Noelle ~ Atlantis ~ Throne Room]

Noelle's heart fluttered as the series of strange events brought forth a memory of Kyle. Her eyes teared, but she didn't, couldn't, feel sad. She knew Kyle's last attack was for them, was to give them a fighting chance. She wouldn't dishonor that.

As the Throne Room burst open Noelle snarled and charged with Joe, powering forward with Slide, a new sense of vigor fueled by anger driving her. She paid little of her attention to what the others were saying, knowing well enough to stay out of the way of other attacks. As soon as Ajora was in her vision she began growing briars around him, each vine moving to wrap around and hold him in place to keep attacks on target. Then, with a mighty push, Noelle sank into a lunge and pulled up, with it coming a large boulder of earth. The projectile soared into the throne room after Kyla and Bobbi's attacks, seeking the same target.

[Matt :-: Atlantis :-: Throne Room]

Matt cursed under his breath; not only had Kyle "burst" again, but things were apparently going down hill anyways. He just couldn't catch a break this week. He wasn't terribly worried about Kyle; the man had already gone through worse today. And if something did happen, well Matt would simply have to go to the Underworld, drag his soul back here, and then kill him again for having the gall to die.

Joe was obviously affected though, and Matt felt guilty that his mind had reacted differently. Joe's battlecry quickly uplifted his spirits though, and he swung his scimitar over his shoulder. 'No time for negativity,' he thought, this battle would take too much concentration. He followed behind the brawlers of the team, ready to get things moving when he heard Kyla's voice over the charm.

{Yeah, got something like that,} he replied. Matt blinked as he activated the Clarity spell he had learned from Alan. When his eyes re-opened they took on a blue sheen that lit up his mask. He almost couldn't describe what it was like; all of his natural senses were shut down, but he could "see" everything around him that gave off magical energy. Everyone looked like genderless mannequins, glowing the colour of their respective element.

He was able to quickly recognize his party, the group looking almost like a vibrant rainbow with its different hues. He was then able to locate Kida as the "brightest" source of magic in the room, her grey-white light causing him pain in his head when he focused on it. Ajora was easily picked out with his black aura standing out against Kida's. While not giving off any "light" of its own, his aura seemed so thick it was obvious that he was just rolling in magic power. He also seemed to be channeling it into the trident, but there wasn't anyhting binding it there.

'Alright big boy, let's see what you got,' he thought to himself, and focused on his aura. He still wasn't quite sure of Clarity's limits, so he simply pored over Ajora's aura. As he did so, he felt an anxiety growing within him. As he looked at the aura, it almost seemed to be... fighting within itself. But then he could feel it; the aura was "staring" back at him.

He shut down the Clarity ASAP, his eyes returning to normal as he drew in a shuddering breath. 'Shitshitshit, I didn't even find any weaknesses from him.'

{Okay, I don't have any weaknesses on him yet, but there are two things everyone should know. One, the trident isn't bound to him but he's definitely channeling his magic through it. Two, there is something fighting for dominance over him, and it is terrifying.}

'Well really you should have used Scan for weaknesses,' Dave replied simply. 'Would that I could.' 'You can,'

Matt was stunned for a second after that exchange, but gave in and attempted to use Scan.

[ Noelle ~ Atlantis ~ Throne Room]

Noelle's chest heaved as she watched Kida and Ajora's battle, not from overexertion but from emotional turmoil. Her eyes were wide, taking in the incredible, though obviously weighted, struggle. She flinched and braced as the mass of darkness on Ajora burst, but as she looked past her arms she could see he was no more. The agromancer glanced around rapidly to be sure he was really gone. Had Kida done it? Were they finally victorious? Her words to her father brought doubt to Noelle's mind. She took a slightly frightened step backward as Kida walked toward then past them. It crossed her mind that Ajora was out there somehow, and Kida was walking to meet him for yet another duel. Noelle tensed and searched the earth before she could turn to look, her body trying to catch up with her magic ability. There was certainly somebody out there, but they weren't standing. She felt them on the ground, very still. Her eyes caught up, and she was confused by what she saw.

Who was that? A very faint pulse started within the figure, barely registering in her thoughts as she tried to identify them. That looked like . . .

"Kyle--"

Noelle had barely uttered his name before she was on the move, skating along the ground as the earth propelled her. Her small form flew past Kida and the others, moving faster than she, and possibly her comrades, had thought possible. The blonde nearly tumbled over Kyle as she tried to stop next to him. She slid on her knees, paying no mind to how she scraped them, and nearly bumped into the unconscious male.

He's breathing, he's still--!
'HEAL him!'

In a panic, Noelle shoved her hands over Kyle's chest and cast Curaga. Her hands glowed green briefly, illuminating Kyle's form as well. The image of White Yarrow blooms appeared above them at the conclusion of the spell. Noelle didn't want to stop there, but the Curaga spell robbed her of her remaining mana.

'Axel gave you an Ether, it's in your pocket.'

The agromancer scrambled for the Ether as she was reminded of it. She yanked it from her pocket and downed it as soon as she could. Her mana was quickly restored, and as soon as she could manage Noelle cast Esunaga. She tried to blink back tears as she was casting, but they quickly spilled down her cheeks, leaving streaks in the grime that had accumulated there during battle.